Cardno ChemRisk in Attendance at 2017 International Society of Exposure Science Meeting

Ms. Elleen Hsu recently presented a poster entitled “Insulation Usage and Asbestos Exposures: Historical Trends and Exposure Assessment” at the 2017 International Society of Exposure Science Meeting held in Durham, North Carolina. The purpose of this research was to identify factors that impacted the trends of historical airborne asbestos concentrations from insulation products and to model how these factors would affect human exposures. The authors found that airborne fiber concentrations measured during insulation work in shipyards were 3.5 to 15.5 times higher than concentrations measured for similar tasks in non-shipyard settings. The authors also modeled asbestos exposure estimates for full-shift insulators using task-specific frequencies and concentrations reported in the literature. Using our model, a cumulative occupational exposure for an insulator could be estimated by summing the cumulative exposure for the years of interest. Additionally, our research also found that asbestos concentrations declined over time, likely driven by the passage of the OSH Act and subsequent PEL rulings, as well as advancements in asbestos research and industrial hygiene practices.

Ms. Melanie Nembhard is an Associate Health Scientist with Cardno ChemRisk in the San Francisco, CA office. She earned her MSPH in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also holds two certificates from Johns Hopkins, the Risk Sciences and Public Policy Certificate and the Population and Health Certificate. Ms. Nembhard’s principal areas of training and expertise include industrial hygiene and risk assessment. Since joining Cardno ChemRisk, she has provided litigation support for cases related to asbestos, benzene, butadiene, diacetyl, worker safety, welding, sunscreen, dermal exposures to various chemicals, and inhalation irritants. Additionally, she has participated in baseline exposure assessments at multiple oil refineries regarding occupational and environmental exposures to various chemical and physical agents, including particulates, volatile organic compounds, and noise.